Widening urban-rural disparities

Opinion / Zou Hanru

 Widening urban-rural disparities
By Zou Hanru (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-25 06:00

Building a "harmonious society" is today the catchphrase of China's
political life, and is set to stay that way for many years to come. The
road towards that goal, however, is long and arduous, for we have to
overcome the widening rural-urban disparities, soaring wealth gap between
the rich and the poor and unemployment. The list could go on.

Instead of fixing one problem at a time, can we find a stone that can
kill more than one bird at the same time? Perhaps.

President Hu Jintao's conception of a "harmonious society" is one that
features "democracy, the rule of law, equity, justice, sincerity, amity
and vitality." Equity and justice mean a platform where the people can
work to their full ability and compete for social and economic status on
equal terms.

Such an environment would certainly be conducive to the building of a
"harmonious society" and to the resolution of a domestic migration
problem that can't wait any longer to be addressed.

Nowadays, our cities have millions of rural migrants waiting, and at
times fighting, for the economic and social status that their urban
compatriots enjoy as a birthright.

Since we shifted from a command to market economy in the early 1980s,
millions of farmers have left their homes lured by the riches of the
cities. In about 20 years, more than 140 million have made the move,
making it the largest rural-to-urban migration in history.

Migrants still take up, as they used to, menial jobs shunned by urban
dwellers in the construction, manufacturing, mining and services
industries. But despite their backbreaking labour contributing to the
economy, they are not eligible to share with their urban brethren the
essential services such as education, healthcare and social security
benefits.

Why? Because of the household registration (hukou) system that divides
Chinese society into rural and urban residents.

Comparing the hukou system to India's dreaded caste structure, as some
critics have done, would be too far-fetched. But there's no denying the
fact that rural migrant workers do face discrimination in almost all
walks of life.

Since most white-collar and managerial jobs require an urban hukou and
higher education, the migrants have no option but to look for physically
demanding jobs that provide neither fair wages nor security.

China's coal-mining industry alone accounted for an average annual death
toll of 6,282 people from 2001 to 2004, with most of the casualties being
migrant workers.

Despite the inherent hazards of a mining job, such as pneumosilicosis,
they get no healthcare cover from their employers if they work for
private coal mines. This practice is not confined to coal mines; it
pervades other sectors as well.

Because of the temporary nature of their employment, migrant workers
don't always sign a contract with their employers, putting themselves at
a greater disadvantage when labour disputes arise.

This at times makes them resort to desperate measures. Last month in the
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, migrant worker Wang Binyu was executed for
killing four people because his employer wouldn't pay him his hard-earned
5,000 yuan (US$616). Wang worked a full year for a building contractor
only to find his wages withheld. When a heated argument turned sour, he
stabbed to death the four people in a fit of rage.

Wang's case and a string of other labour disputes have prompted the
central government to order employers to clear migrant workers' arrears
as soon as possible. But even if all the employers comply with the
government's order, that will solve only part of the problem.

For example, migrants today can't get proper education for their children
in the cities. Regular city schools are either off limits for them or
charge extra fees that they can hardly afford. An urban hukou could thus
mean access to better education and the difference between a high-paying,
white-collar job for their children and a lifetime of manual labour.

Like in most of the countries across the world, migrant workers in China,
too, live in poor conditions on the outskirts of cities. The high
unemployment rate in these areas can suck not only the migrants, but also
their disillusioned children, into the world of crime.

The central government is relaxing the rigid hukou system, and some
migrant workers, especially those with a regular job to do and a regular
place to live in, will be able to settle down in cities. But that again
may not be enough. We'll have to develop, albeit very gradually, the
rural areas, too, so as to stem the flow of migrants into the cities.
Only then will real integration begin and the flower of harmony blossom.

Email: zouhr@chinadaily.com.hk

(China Daily 11/25/2005 page4)

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